Deliver Me from My Enemies
To the choirmaster: according to xDo Not Destroy. A yMiktam1 of David, zwhen Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
1 aDeliver me from my enemies, O my God;
bprotect me from those who crise up against me;
2 deliver me from dthose who work evil,
and save me from ebloodthirsty men.
3 For behold, they flie in wait for my life;
fierce men gstir up strife against me.
hFor no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
iAwake, come to meet me, and see!
5 You, jLord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 Each evening they kcome back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, lbellowing with their mouths
with mswords in their lips—
8 But you, O Lord, olaugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are pmy fortress.
10 qMy God in his steadfast love3 rwill meet me;
God will let me slook in triumph on my enemies.
11 Kill them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter4 by your power and tbring them down,
O Lord, our ushield!
12 For vthe sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 wconsume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
that they may xknow that God rules over Jacob
to ythe ends of the earth. Selah
14 zEach evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
15 They awander about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me ba fortress
and ca refuge in dthe day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, bare my fortress,
ethe God who shows me steadfast love.
11 cSaul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12 dSo Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. 13 Michal took ean image1 and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. 14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” 15 Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16 And when the messengers came in, behold, ethe image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head. 17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. fWhy should I kill you?’”
18 Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at gRamah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth.
